Trove Tuesday - Government Gazettes

When many people search Trove, they concentrate mainly on its wonderful collection of digitised newspapers, which date back to the original foundation of the colony.  Trove is , however, much more than just newspapers.

A gazette is an official publication for the purpose of notifying the public of government business. All Australian governments (Commonwealth, State and Territory) publish official gazettes.

Information published in government gazettes covers all aspects of government, including:

• Appointments and employment (includes transfers and retirements)
• Budgetary papers (reports relating to government budgets)
• Freedom of Information (only for years covered by Acts)
• Index and Contents (cumulative indexes and content listings for individual issues)
• Government notices (including registers of medical professionals, licencing, honours, electoral notices, trade registrations and population statistics)
• Private notices (legal notices including bankruptcies, company registrations and local government matters)
• Proclamations and legislation (includes some Acts and regulations)
• Tenders and contracts (including requests for tender and notifications of approved contracts)

You can search the gazettes using key words or browse to find a specific issue. 

The very first issue of the Commonwealth of Australia Government Gazette, published on 1 January 1901, shows the proclamation of the Commonwealth of Australia by Queen Victoria. There were also instructions on a range of protocols, such as directions for appointing the judiciary, what should happen were the Governor-General to become incapacitated, and who would form Her Majesty’s first government.  This gazette from 1901-1957 now available online and fully text searchable.

Each Gazette documents the day-to-day business of governing and administering the Commonwealth. Usually published weekly, they were the principal source of public information on current legislation, and contained notices required by law on decisions made by the various departments and courts.
The subject matter of the Gazette ranges across all kinds of services and authorities, including defence, postal and telegraphic services, taxation and other forms of revenue, immigration, citizenship, trade and foreign affairs, national infrastructure and many others.

Each State and Territory also has their own Government Gazette, with historical gazettes dating back to colonial times.  More information, including dates of publication and digitisation, can be found in Trove's Government Gazettes Research Guide.